The Orioles today reduced their spring training camp roster to 46 players by sending seven players their minor league camp. Two players on the 40-man roster – OF Jeff Fiorentino and RHP Jim Hoey – were optioned to AAA Norfolk. Non-roster invitees RHP Francis Beltran, OF Roger Cedeno, RHP Cory Doyne, CA Ryan Hubele and RHP Victor Moreno were reassigned to the minor league camp in Sarasota, FL.

Orioles Manager Sam Perlozzo also officially named LHP Erik Bedard as the starting pitcher for the season opener in Minnesota on April 2. It will be the first opening day start for Bedard, 15-11 with a 3.76 ERA last season.

The Minnesota Twins announced prior to today’s game that they have optioned outfielder Denard Span to Triple-A Rochester…and after today’s game, they reassigned lefthanded pitchers Carmen Cali and Jason Miller and righthanded pitchers Jeremy Cummings and Kevin Slowey to Minor League camp.

Milwaukee’s RHP Ben Hendrickson cleared waivers today and was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville.

The San Diego Padres today reassigned right-handed pitcher Aaron Rakers and outfielders Adam Shabala and Will Venable to minor league camp.

Texas Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels announced today LHPs John Koronka and A.J. Murray and RHP Josh Rupe have been optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City and RHPs Franklyn German and Willie Erye, catchers Salomon Manriquez and Kevin Richardson and INF Nate Gold were reassigned to minor league camp.

Chipper Jones was held out of the Atlanta Braves' lineup for the third straight game Sunday with a sore muscle on his right side.

In an exclusive interview with MLB.com, Roger Clemens said he won’t announce his plans for 2007 until at least May. And if he does pitch, it will only be for the Astros, Yankees or Red Sox.

Atlanta’s John Smoltz is determined to come out of camp with an improved changeup, to the point that that is all he threw for one inning of his latest outing.

Baltimore’s Jeremy Guthrie, who was picked up on waivers from Cleveland, has not allowed a run in eight innings of relief this spring and is now being considered as the best possibility to win a roster spot as the long reliever.

The Cubs Mark Prior has been pulled from the Cactus League rotation and is now working in minor league games as he attempts to rebuild his arm strength. Prior had an 18.90 ERA through two major league exhibition games.

Cincinnati’s Matt Belisle, 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA after three appearances, is the front-runner to win the team fifth starter's spot.

Cleveland’s Cliff Lee has not pitched at all this spring, due to a strained abdominal muscle, which will cause him to start the season on the disabled list. Manager Eric Wedge said Fausto Carmona, 1-10 last year as a rookie, is the leading candidate to replace Lee in the rotation.

Colorado’s OF Steve Finley has come to spring training and laid claim to the backup center field job over OF Cory Sullivan, who has options, meaning Sullivan could be sent to Triple-A Colorado Springs unless a deal is made.

Detroit’s Curtis Granderson has cut down on his strikeouts with a shortened swing this spring but is anxious to see how that plays out when the games begin to count. Granderson had only one strikeout through his first 32 spring at-bats.

KC Rookie 3B Alex Gordon is hitting .545 with six runs, two doubles, two triples and five RBIs in his past 10 games.

A’s outfielder Bobby Kielty began hitting off a tee last week and is recovering well from left knee surgery. He's optimistic he'll be ready for Opening Day.

San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum, whom teammates call "The Franchise," appears headed to the minors. He entered camp as a candidate for the final rotation job, but that'll probably go to RHP Russ Ortiz.

Shawn Hill was named the Nationals' No. 2 starter by manager Manny Acta. Hill came to camp as one of 12 pitchers fighting for four open spots behind ace John Patterson

Well not exactly...but Martin did press the Braves GM in the latest cooperative interview between BDD and TalkingChop.com. It's a very interesting read. It may not reveal a lot of detailed player information, but it does an excellent job in portraying the the human aspects of both the baseball executive and the journalist.

Read the whole exchange between Martin and Schuerholz, and be sure to check out TalkingChop.com for some other great player interviews!

• John Sickels had an interesting “Prospect Smackdown” this past week when he looked at Jacoby Ellsbury vs. Felix Pie. Personally, I really liked what I saw of Pie in Arizona. 
• I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I can’t get enough of Curt Schilling’s blog. It’s kind of refreshing to see straight answers to almost any question. Actually, it’s refreshing just to see Schil answering reader questions. 
• All I have to say about this is…it’s about time! It’s hard to believe that this guy once won the Rookie of the Year award. 
• I was really pulling for Tony Abreu to make the Dodgers this spring. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen now. 
• You would think by now that we’d have moved beyond the “Stats vs. Scouts” debate. It’s  widely accepted that a combination of talent evaluation and statistical analysis is necessary to paint a true picture of a player. Then, all of a sudden, someone comes along and stirs up the whole controversy again. With all due respect to David Pinto, this really was an unnecessary title and analysis of Bobby Livingston, an average prospect at best. If you want to get into that argument, just remember that that the A’s selected Jeremy Brown in the first round because he was such an offensive stud “on paper.” 
• It’s hard to imagine that the Twins will be able to give Johan Santana the kind of money being thrown around these days. But don’t count out Terry Ryan just yet. And oh yeah, Santana is a pretty special guy too. If anyone is going to make this deal work with the Twins, it’s Santana. 
• I don’t know how I never noticed this, but CSTV.com is a great site for college sports audio, video, and more. I love their version of the game tracker. 

Purchase Recommendations

·         Two great writers, and friends of BDD, have just had their brand new books hit the street. I highly recommend reading anything by J.C. Bradbury of Sabernomics and Geoff Young of Ducksnorts, but you certainly won't want to miss their excellent new publications:

The Baseball Economist: The New Game Exposed by J.C. Bradbury

Ducksnorts 2007 Baseball Annual by Geoff Young

And while I’m at it, I also recommend getting ready for the season by purchasing a copy of The Hardball Times 2007 Preview and John Sickels Minor League Newsletter.